Beach Study???????

[The_Stalker]

Does anyone know of a study of tides and sand movement on the beach?  Last week and this week, the high tides were accompanied by a strong easterly wind.  Sand was pulled down from the high dunes onto the beach causing targets to be  buried by a mountain of sand.  The wave action pulled some sand off the low tide area, but all it uncovered was sunglasses, pull tabs and bottle caps.  Is there any trackable target that you can place on the beach to follow sand and target movement?  I realize you can use the clam holes to see where sand is accumulating or being pulled away, but something like an AirTag on the beach would be priceless if something like this exist.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  What I would ultimately like to accomplish is a beach prediction tool.  Just like they have tools to predict what are the best times and places to fish, I would like to create a tool to predict when and where would be the best place to detect.  Example:  If the wind have been out of ? and the tides have been [rising/falling],  and targets move [south/north] at x per month, where on the beach from activity levels should the target be.    

[Joe Beechnut OBN]

 

My opinion

Every beach is totally different, conditions VARY, sand matrix, intensity variables, directions, the list is endless in the possibles that affect beaches.. 

Years ago there was a guy on Findmall who had a few hundred lead rings he made, wedding band size, think they were around 5 grams? Took them out and seeded different areas of a beach. He could never really see a defined pattern. I'll see if I can find that post, it was around 2010? 

For me here in the Chesapeake Bay, as slow as things move here I've found there is no sure fire way of knowing what I'm walking into or when to expect great conditions. I can come close on a few details from learning the habits when some conditions come in, then watching for patterns but l've yet to be right to the point I can predict 100%.

Good Luck!

Found the story.. interesting too ....2008

   https://www.findmall.com/threads/has-anybody-tried-planting-surf-salt.116381/

Hello all,

I hunt the wet sand between the water line and the dry sand primarily, so the following experiment really only applies to wet sand hunting.

About ten years ago I made a little mold to cast lead rings. I made the mold to cast rings that I considered to be of "average" size, weight and shape. Then I threw about 200 of them out in the surf all across one beach I hunt pretty heavy which is Seal Beach in S. Ca. In the month following that "planting" I found about four of those rings in the wet sand which meant they had been swept up there by wave action or whatever. Since that first month, I have never found another one of those lead rings.

This last summer I tried the same experiment but since I couldn't find my mold, I cut up a 3/4" copper tubing water pipe into "rings" of varying widths from about 1/16" to 1/4". I'm a machinist by trade so this was fairly easy for me to do. Again I threw about 200 of these new copper "rings' out into the surf all across the beach at a distance from shore where most people swim. I have only found one of those copper rings since that "planting."

The fact that I have found so very few of my planted rings surprises me. I have probably found close to hundred rings on that beach of varying degrees of shape, worth and weight since that first planting ten years ago...and I have probably found a dozen rings on that beach since my planting this last summer.

What conclusions can I draw from this experiment?

What I think is...there is more stuff out there than we can imagine but only a very tiny percentage of it is within detector range at any given time.

Has anybody ever tried this experiment before? What results did you get?

Harvdog

[mn90403]

There are too many variables to get it completely right.  Just like 'climate change' or 'global warming' in my opinion.  Just when you think you have all the variables right you find out that there is another major mechanism or set of volcanos that change things.

When it comes to local beaches major energy events change things for years.  Last year in our Southern California area there were a couple of hurricanes which had people saying they had their best gold years ever south of Santa Monica Bay.  It was not that good of a year for me.  This year there has not been a hurricane and there is not an El Nino so I see even less sand movement.  The storm track and atmospheric river is going up north.

We need some Southern Pacific swells that have a lot of energy, big waves with short intervals.  When you have long intervals between waves and wave sets then things get sanded in/dragged out.  Short interval, high energy waves push heavies up on my beaches.  It can create that 'cut' that people are looking for which means it is good for a few days.

Several years back now there were many waves throughout a spring and summer.  Many targets were pushed up the hill on many beaches here.  Now beaches are flatter (reminding me more of Florida) and every little wave event brings out dozens of detectorists.  This reduces the number of patches/big patches we once had.

When I talk to the old detectorists on these beaches from the 80s, 90s and 00s they blow my mind.

Talk to Steve H about Hawaiian beaches back in the day about detecting pressure.  Talk to Gerry about beaches in Mexico where you don't get many waves and you have to go out to the finds.  And of course, talk to Joe.  He is following up on a couple of guys who wrote the books 'Diamonds in the surf' which shows what it was like for the guys with the first metal detectors in his region.

Compare this depletion to gold patches and there is a corollary.  

We still have chances for good days and good patches at the beaches.  I have some good beaches that only 'turn on' from waves coming from a certain direction.  Those people that have logs do better than those without.  As you say, just like the best place to fish at a certain time of year.

[Skull diver]

6 hours ago, The_Stalker said:

Does anyone know of a study of tides and sand movement on the beach?  

Unluckily I can't add much more than what Joe or mn90403 wrote uphere...

Sure, geomorphology talks about erosion, tides, structures and waves motion but ehm....After more than 20 years I still find "holes in the theory" and still face harsh reality at every corner of my long coast.

The best affirmation I can, sure it is to be a "scouting maniac"...I call scouting the repetitive activity to go walking along the coast and to stop et every mile or so, checking the layers and looking for major signs.

Anytime I skip scouting 24/48 hours before, I hunt in the dark without to really know the potential of the spot and 99% of the time the results speaks by themselves.

It is not to know a precise combination (You'll never find it for a number of variables), but to follow a precise spot and its different conditions checked in hundreds of days.

I mean, at every tide something changes radically downthere, under our eyes and with calm wind and waters...It remains only to fight with the nature's strength, structures and fantasy...

 

[mn90403]

I will add a comment about a type of log that I used to get when I used my 3030.  It has a GPS and lets you mark your finds.  I could see my previous rings because that is all that I marked.  During that 3-4 year period of time that I used it I would get excited coming on to certain areas of my beaches.  There were patch areas and I still remember some of those now.

My preference is for that type of beach over trying to locate a beach with recent drops.

I've found that recent drops (especially lighter chains) move with even small waves and you have to be 'on call' from one of the lifeguards as a 'ring finder' to locate the loss within a matter of hours.  We have a couple of those 'on call' guys here on the forum.  They'll give us some insight I hope.

[skywatcher]

Best place to start is learning the moon cycles and how they influence your detecting spots. That alone can give you an advantage dont need any fancy tech . Good luck.!

[King-Of-Bling]

Everything that everyone has said here is spot on. So many factors will drive you crazy. I can guarantee several things. You are dealing with weather/storms all of which is unpredictable when you consider everything else involved. And experience is EVERYTHING , meaning know your beaches. This has taken me decades on So.Cal beaches and certain information I keep to myself. Only because I've been taken advantage of (my fault of course).

But you asked specific questions regarding studies in relation to your experiment... I know of a hunter who would gage movement by tying certain dacron line to varying weights and tossing them out. Upon learning of a $20k ring that was lost , he marked the area as described above. 10 years go by and that ring was found. 2 days later his weight was found. I believe this was not a coincidence....Final tip : Over the last few years I have been studying local city , county , state and Army Corps of Engineers reports and studies on beaches and erosion. Some crazy reading and history for sure. Do some research and good luck.

[midalake]

On 12/17/2024 at 5:28 PM, The_Stalker said:

but something like an AirTag on the beach would be priceless if something like this exist.

You could not mimic any type of gold movement with this device. 

On 12/17/2024 at 5:28 PM, The_Stalker said:

 Example:  If the wind have been out of ? and the tides have been [rising/falling],  and targets move [south/north] at x per month, where on the beach from activity levels should the target be.

If it's and but's would be candy and nuts, it would be Christmas every day. 

Now the reality>>>  I have hunted the same beach for 20 some years. Suprises happen all the time here. Not only live on it, but I get a 7th floor view. Some events I can predict. Many times, I think conditions are correct for moving targets and it is not the case. 

As others have stated, the conditions can vary per location. I vividly remember being here for a hurricane and could not wait to "kill it" .  That hurricane dumped so much sand on the beach I barely heard any targets in 4 days of hunting.  

If you pay attention, you will find a standard where you are that works better. Everything else is a wild card and forces you to just be there and see.  Good luck. 

[mn90403]

Let me throw in a couple of variables that get little attention.

We have several islands just off our coast.  When storms and swells hit these islands the energy is changed.  If a few hours of waves miss a certain island for a while then the coast where they come ashore is more impacted than normal. 

Wind events create similar variables all the time.  Give me a good onshore wind and the right waves!

The ocean and bottom are just a big gold pan of sorts.  Get the goodies moving and they will hang together.